The Scarf among the Ruins
by emdabom
Summary: When everything is gone, except memories of her...  The impact that Lily's death has on Severus Snape.


**Hey everyone! Here's another oneshot! Again, it's Snape and Lily. **

**Disclaimer: The characters and places are J K Rowling's, the plot is mine.**

He slowly approached the ruins of the house, lost among his own thoughts.

She was dead! Lily Evans was dead! After the danger he'd put himself in to protect her, switching sides to provide the Order of the Phoenix with information to save her life. He'd even begged the Dark Lord himself to spare her!

He was slightly confused; after all, Voldemort had promised that he would not kill her. And how had the child survived? Unless… he had heard of a very ancient magic, one most wizards had never heard of, one Voldemort would definitely not have considered. If the Dark Lord had truly not intended to kill Lily, her life would have been a willing sacrifice. The kind of sacrifice that protects someone against anything, even death itself.

Ah, Lily. One step ahead, as always. He was sure that she would have known about the magic. He was also sure that she would have done anything to protect her son.

He reached the front door of Lily and James Potter's house in Godric's Hollow, and after a moment's hesitation, stepped inside. The bottom story of the house was in perfect order, apart from one broken plate lying in pieces on the floor in the hallway. Was Potter trying to use it as a weapon? Trust him to have to resort to muggle crockery. He probably didn't even have his wand with him.

He climbed the stairs and walked into what used to be the nursery. He didn't get very far before his way was blocked by debris from the ceiling. The entire room was destroyed, and he pitied the person who had had to go digging for the child through all of this. In the doorway of the nursery was an emerald green scarf that he found very familiar.

_He and Lily were on their first trip to Hogsmeade. It was snowing, and Lily was dancing around nearby the Shrieking Shack, enjoying the snowflakes that were falling on her. _

"_Lily, did you actually want to see the shops? You've been excited about this trip for months, and I was under the impression that it was because of the village, not the snow."_

"_Lighten up, Sev. We've got heaps of time to see the shops." A snowball aimed at his head accompanied this statement._

_He grinned, and threw a snowball back at the laughing girl. Things quickly evolved into a full-scale war, and it was only an hour later that the two actually made it into the village._

_After hours of going through all the shops, Lily and Severus were on their way back to the castle when Lily gasped at something in the windows of Madame Malkins'. It was a genuine centaur-made green scarf, guaranteed to keep the owner warm in any weather._

"_Oh, Severus, __please__ buy it for me! I've got no money left, and that scarf is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my entire life!"_

_Although Severus had heard this line before at least a hundred times from Lily, he couldn't help being won over by the pleading look in her beautiful emerald eyes. He noticed that the scarf matched the shade of those eyes perfectly. He looked in his wallet. He had seven galleons, just enough to buy the scarf, although he'd have no money for another three months._

"_Alright, I'll buy the scarf, but you have to promise to wear it to at least one Gryffindor vs Slytherin quidditch match!"_

_Lily waited until he'd paid for the scarf before complaining._

"_Aw, but Sev! Everyone will hate me if I support Slytherin!"_

"_Well, __I__ won't hate you, and that's all that matters, right?" Severus replied, wrapping the scarf around her neck. _

_Lily huffed, and pretended to sulk, even though they both knew that when it came to the quidditch game, Severus would let her get away with not wearing the scarf._

Severus picked up the scarf and held it against him. She must have been wearing it when Voldemort arrived. He cradled the scarf in his arms, as tears fell freely down his cheeks, because Lily Evans was gone.

**Please review and tell me what you think! I have no idea if my writing is in any way good or bad, so please tell me what it's like. Constructive criticism welcome.**


End file.
